Saturday, March 22, 2008

"INESCAPABLE CRITICISM"...mach 22 weekly devotion

INESCAPABLE CRITICISM

A cartoon in a newspaper depicted a Cowboy speaking to his horse, “Well, you’ve been a pretty good ole gal” The Cowboy continued, “reliable, not as fast as some.” The second frame of the cartoon showed the horse interrupting and responding, “I SAID I wanted a feedbag! Not feedback!”

Whether we want it or not, people seem quite ready and even anxious to give us feedback. It would be great if feedback was always positive, but often times it is negative and critical.

Author John Steinbeck was criticized about one of his novels, and he responded, “Where were you when the page was blank?”

As long as we live in relationship with others, we will face criticism. The key is to learn to manage the stress of it. No amount of wealth and power will protect us from criticism. Even the President of the United States, who is one of the most powerful men in the world, is criticized.

In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS, a poll was taken asking “Who gave you your recent dose of criticism.” The top three poll results were found:

1. 33% of voters were criticized by a FAMILY MEMBER2. 26% of those polled said a SPOUSE criticized them3. 13% said their BOSS recently criticized them

It appears that we cannot escape criticism even from those closest to us.

· No amount of goodness or holiness will shield you from negative criticism.

Jesus was criticized!

· People will find fault in spite of your pure motives and willingness to sacrifice for their best

interests. Fault was found in Apostle Paul by others!

The Apostle Paul discovered three ever-present judges. We face the same critics as Paul did:

1. JUDGE #1 …ANY SIGNIFICANT OTHER PERSONThis is anyone whose opinion of you carries weight. This can be a parent, child, friend, pastor, boss, coworker, spouse, etc. For Paul, the first critic was a collection of church members in Corinth.

2. JUDGE #2…YOURSELFYou may be a soft judge or a hard judge, but you will check in daily to accomplish the job of self-evaluation.

3. JUDGE #3…GODGod is holy and all knowing. He is full aware of your flawed behavior, thoughts and motives. He also knows when we have been falsely accused or unjustly criticized.

1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-5“Men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. (2) Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (3) I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. (4) My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. (5) Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”

It is easy to ignore the criticism of your enemies, but much tougher to accept the critical feedback of those on your team. If you find yourself facing criticism from those around you, here are some suggestions to avoid an angry response:

…Don’t be upset every time someone criticizes you. It is not a disaster.…Don’t shape your behavior just to prevent others from criticizing you.…Don’t reward the angry outbursts of others. Ignore them when they yell at you, but be very attentive when they speak reasonably.…Don’t be intimidated. Speak up and say, “Please talk to me reasonably.”…Be kind and loving. Just because someone is angry at you does not mean you have to be angry back.…When there is truth in criticism, admit it. Do not lie and defend yourself.…Give others the right to be angry with you sometimes and do not be shocked and offended when it happens.

Paul weighed the Corinthians’ criticism against his own conscience. Paul knew he was completely committed to God and he knew that his motives were pure. When we encounter criticism, regardless of the message and source, we should analyze it for truth. Paul’s honest look inward led him to declare a verdict of innocence but he was wise and mature in recognizing that he was not the final and most accurate judge.

If we strive to be like Paul when it comes to the critics in our lives, we will recognize that God is our final and ultimate judge. Sometimes the complete verdict of those who have wronged us will not be revealed to us in this life.

(Vs. 5 “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”)

You may have people in your life that second-guess your character and even criticize your behavior and performance, but the One who has the authority to condemn us has extended us grace. (Jesus was judged in our place)

Romans 8:1“there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.

It is my prayer that you will accept the truth that God is all-knowing and the final judge when it comes to the criticism in your life, whether it is inflicted by yourself or others.

I would love to hear how you overcome criticism in your life. Thanks for checking in on this weeks devotion. I pray it has challenged your heart today. Have a great week!

7 comments:

Thanks for your comment on my blog. I LOVE Rusty and Dorinda. We went to Bible College together and my husband grew up in AR so he knew them before college. The family of GOD is so cool how we all become connected.

Your post are great. I will definitely be reading.

For me and criticism... I tend to take things so personally. My husband has always told me take what they say... see if there is any truth... smile and say to that person, "THANK YOU SO MUCH For sharing that."

Well... I added one more step to that... Something that may not be all that spiritual... Especially in ministry where we are subject to so many 'opinions' and 'words' from those whose feathers get ruffled...

I wrote about on my blog last May in a post entitled, "Idiots." Just a little humor to lighten those times and put it in perspective.

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About Me

Sharing God's love and truth thru devotional writing here and across the web. My heart is to bring hope,love and forgiveness to those that feel broken and lost. I was once broken and lost but I am so glad that God didn't let me stay that way. Come along with me on this adventure of faith and may you also find the hope and love that you are longing for! :)